Evaporative condenser

ABSTRACT

An evaporative condenser of the push-through type has the blower located directly beneath the coils and its horizontal discharge directed upwardly at an angle from the horizontal. An arrangement of roofs and shielding prevent the introduction of water into the fan and the air direction means; drainage is provided for any water that may inadvertently enter the fan housing or air directing means.

United States Patent Schaeffer et al. [451 July 18, 1972 54] EVAPORATIVECONDENSER 3,137,145 6/1964 Henderson ..62/1 83 3,365,909 1] 1968Brainard ..62/305 [72] Inventors: Bruce S. Schaefier; John A. Pike, bothof waynesboro Primary Examiner-William J. Wye [73] Assignee: Fri k Coman w b P Attorney-A. Yates Dowell and A. Yates Dowell, Jr.

[22] F1led: Dec. 3, 1970 [57] ABSTRACT [2]] Appl. No; 94,708

An evaporatlve condenser of the push-through type has the blower locateddirectly beneath the coils and its horizontal [52] US. Cl ..62/305,62/428 discharge directed upwardly at an angle from the horizontal. [51]..F28d 5/00 An arrangement of roofs and shielding prevent the introduc-[58] Field of Search ..62/305, 181, 183, 184, 171 tion f water into then n h air direction m n r inage is provided for any water that mayinadvertently enter the fan [56] References Cited housing or airdirecting means.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 9 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures 2,289,035 7/1942Neeson ..62/305 PATENTEDJUUBIB'IZ 3,677,029

sum 1 0F 3 INVENTORJ ATTORNEYS PATENTEBJUU 8 1972 SHEET 2 [1F 3 F IJ'I''FF lmm l HI III I I H ,l H! 'H ATTORN EVAPORATIVE CONDENSER BACKGROUNDOF THE INVENTION This invention relates to evaporative condenserconstruction of the blow-through type in which air is directed upwardlythrough the coils as the liquid flows downwardly over the coils.

In this type of heat exchanger provision must be made for preventing thepassage of water into the fan elements. This has been done in some casesby positioning the fan outside of the vertical projection of the coils.However, this arrangement requires separate packaging or handling of thefan unit since additional space outside the coil housing is required.Even if the fan unit is mounted at the factory on a framework with thecoils, it still protrudes from what would otherwise be a substantiallyrectangular package.

Attempts have been made to position the fan unit within the verticalprojection of the coils by employing air discharge ducts from the fanwhich are inclined downwardly in order to avoid admission of waterthereinto, as, for example, in the patent to Engalitcheff, Jr. et al.,US Pat. No. 3,442,494. Such arrangement, however, creates air turbulencesince the air must change direction through an angle of more than 90within a confined space in order to flow upwardly through the coils. Inthis patent the arrangement results in the use of a sump having across-sectional area which is smaller at the bottom than at the top.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION AND OBJECTS The present invention is anevaporative condenser including a housing having refrigerant receivingcoils in the upper portion over which a liquid is sprayed in indirectheat exchange relationship with the refrigerant within the coils. One ormore blowers are located directly below the coils and are adapted toblow air upwardly through the coils and the liquid being sprayed. An airflow directional duct is provided for causing air to be discharged intothe plenum chamber below the coils in a direction not less than 30 fromthe horizontal. Also drainage means is provided for reducing the amountof water which flows past the blower discharge area, as well as toprevent water from entering the blower housing.

It is an object of the invention to provide an evaporative condenser ofthe push-through type in which the blower is located inside of thevertical projection of the side walls of the coil area and in which theair is directed substantially upwardly from the blower, thereby creatingconditions for relatively smooth air flow, and in which provision ismade for preventing the liquid from falling into the blower housing. Thearrangement provides other advantages, including permitting the use of alarge proportion of the space beneath the coils for the fan structure.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevation withportions broken away illustrating one embodiment of the invention inwhich blowers are arranged on opposite sides of the center line of thehousing.

FIG. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view with portions broken away.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With further reference to thedrawings, the evaporative condenser includes a generally rectangularhousing having upper and lower portions 11 and 12 respectively. Theupper portion 11 has substantially imperforate side walls 13 and anopen-work grid 14 serving as a top wall. Within the upper portion 11 aseries of refrigerant carrying coils 15 are provided having inlets 16and outlets 17 extending through the side walls 13. A liquid, such aswater or the like, is sprayed over the coils 15 in heat exchangerelationship by headers 18 from a supply pipe 19 connected to a pump 20which draws liquid from a sump 21 in the lower portion 12 of thehousing.

The lower portion 12 of the housing 10 is enclosed by side walls 25 andend walls 26 with the side walls 25 having openings 27 with screening 28therein to permit ingress of air. Within the lower portion 12 of thehousing 10 a pair of opposed blower compartments 30 are provided each ofwhich is defined by a sloping roof 31 connected to the side walls 25 andextending inwardly and downwardly to a generally vertical partition 32extending from end to end of the lower portion 12. Within each one ofthe blower compartments 30 is at least one blower 33 having a shroud orscroll 34 within which a cage 35 is fixed to a shaft 36. Such shaft isadapted to be driven by a motor 37 having a drive pulley 38 which drivesa belt 39 and the belt in turn drives a driven pulley 40 carried by theshaft 36.

As illustrated a pair of blowers 33 are mounted within each of thecompartments 30 and the shaft 36 is common to both blowers so that bothblowers will be driven by the same motor 37. It is noted that if desiredeach blower could be provided with an independent drive. The blowers 33are supported within the compartments 30 in any conventional manner, asby supports 41.

The blower compartments 30 define a plenum chamber in the lower portion12 directly below the coils 15. In order for the blowers 33 to dischargeair into the plenum chamber 45, the partitions 32 are provided withopenings 46 with an opening being in alignment with each of the blowers33. As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, a shroud is connected to thepartitions 32 and extends around the openings 46. Each shroud includesinwardly extending generally parallel side walls 47 connected at theirupper ends to angularly disposed roof plates 48 forming a peaked rooffor the shroud. Each of the side walls and roof plates 47 and 48 isprovided with a right angle flange 49 to prevent water draining from thesloping roof 31 from entering the openings 46.

Each of the blowers 33 is provided with a substantially horizontallydisposed outlet 50 generally in alignment with the openings 46. It isdesirable to direct a stream of air from each blower upwardly andoutwardly at an angle which is preferably no less than 30 from thehorizontal. In order to do this, an air duct 51 is provided having upperand lower deflecting plates 52 and 53 respectively connected by sidewalls 54, and such air ducts are connected at one end to the bloweroutlets 50. The stream of air from each blower is deflected upwardly bythe ducts and since the blowers are in opposed relation, such airstreams will merge into a single upwardly directed air flow which willspread throughout the plenum chamber 45 and pass upwardly through thecoils 15.

In order to deflect any water which may fall onto the top of the airduct 51, a baffle plate 55 is connected at one end to the outer end ofthe upper deflecting plate 52 and connected at the opposite end to thescroll 34 of the blower (FIG. 1). To prevent water which falls into theair duct from entering the scroll 34, the lower deflecting plate 53 ofthe air duct is spaced below the forward edge of the scroll at theblower outlet and is connected thereto by spacers 56. A drain plate 57is disposed below the air duct 51 and such drain plate is angleddownwardly so that water discharged through the opening between the airduct and the blower outlet will fall by gravity onto the drain plate 57from which it will gravitate into the sump 21.

Intermediate the partitions 32, the sump 21 includes a pan having agenerally flat bottom 58 and side walls 59. As illustrated in FIG. 2,the sump extends the full length of thehousing and preferably isinclined downwardly from end to end. An outlet pipe 60 connects thelower end of the sump with the pump 20 so that the water will berecirculated through the coils 15.

In the operation of the device, the refrigerant which has absorbed heatis introduced into the coils 15 through the outlets 16. In order toefficiently remove the heat from the refrigerant, water or other liquidis sprayed onto the coils l5 from the headers 18 in indirect heatexchange relationship with the refrigerant while simultaneously airflows upwardly through the coils in a direction counter to the flow ofwater. The water in the central portion of the housing will falldirectly into the sump 21, while the water on opposite sides will fallonto the sloping roofs 31 of the blower compartments 30. From thesloping roofs the water will drain down partitions 32 into the sump. Itis important to keep water out of the blowers and therefore a shroudhaving side walls 47 and roof plates 48 is disposed around each bloweropening so that water from the sloping roofs cannot drain into theblowers. An air duct is located within the shroud and such duct deflectsthe flow of air from the blowers upwardly at an angle of not less than30 from the horizontal to create a smooth upward flow of air within theplenum chamber of the lower portion of the housing. The lower deflectingplate 53 of the air duct is spaced below the blower outlet so that anywater which falls into the air duct will drain into the sump and willnot enter the scrolls 34 of the blower. Water which is discharged intothe sump will be recirculated by the pump 20 and again will be sprayedover the coils in a continuous process. After the heat has been absorbedfrom the refrigerant and the refrigerant has changed state from a gas toa liquid, such refrigerant is discharged from the coils through theoutlet 17.

We claim:

1. An evaporative condenser comprising heat exchange apparatus mountedin an enclosure, means to discharge liquid onto the upper portion ofsaid heat exchange apparatus, the liquid flowing downwardly over thelower portion thereof and falling from the lowermost portion, means forblowing air over said heat exchange surfaces in counterflow relation tothe path of the liquid, said means comprising blower means mountedbeneath the heat exchange means, said blower means so positioned andarranged as to discharge air substantially horizontally from the lowerside of the blower means, air directing means mounted at the outlet ofsaid blower means and disposed to direct the air upwardly at an angle tothe horizontal, means for shielding the blower means and air directingmeans from liquid which is falling from the heat exchange means, saidshielding means comprising roof means mounted directly above the blowermeans and having a higher portion adjacent to the wall of the enclosureand a lower portion over the discharge from the blower means, partitionmeans extending from the lower portion of said roof means to the bottomof said enclosure, said partition means having an opening for saidblower means, a shroud having flange means disposed about said openingfor preventing the discharge of liquid over said opening, said shroudhaving a higher portion centrally of the blower means whereby liquidfalling from the roof portion is deflected away from the blower meansand from the air directing means, and sump means positioned to receiveliquid which is discharged from the roof means and which falls directlyinto the sump means from the heat exchange means.

2. The invention of claim 1 in which the blower means is of thecentrifugal type and has a scroll housing, in which the roof means ismounted above the scroll housing, and in which the outlet from thescroll housing is positioned on the lower side of the blower means.

3. The invention of claim 1 in which a second blower means is mounted onthe opposite side of the enclosure from said first blower means, saidsecond blower means having an outlet which discharges air substantiallydirectly toward the outlet of said first blower means, said secondblower means having air directing means which directs the discharge fromthe blower means upwardly at an angle from the horizontal, whereby theeffective path of air from both blower means meets substantiallyintermediate and above the blower means and in a generally upward andcentral direction.

4. The invention of claim 1 in which the sump means has one portionlower than the other in order to facilitate drainage from the sump.

5. The invention of claim 1 in which the enclosure is substantiallyrectangularand in which the blower means is positioned within thevertical extension of the portion of the housing within which the heatexchange means is located.

6. The invention of claim 1 in which said air deflecting means includesa plate member which extends at an angle from the lower wall of theblower outlet and has a portion spaced beneath the outer end of thelower wall in order to permit liquid which falls on the deflected meansto drain beneath the blower means.

7. An evaporative condenser comprising a housing having upper and lowerportions, condenser coil means located in said upper portion, spraymeans disposed above said coil means and adapted to discharge liquidthereon, means for supplying liquid under pressure to said spray means,said lower portion including a plenum chamber located below said coilmeans, at least one blower compartment having side and top walls in saidlower portion, blower means mounted within said compartment and adaptedto discharge a stream of air through the side walls of said compartmentinto said plenum chamber, air duct means for directing said stream ofair upwardly at an angle greater than 30 to the horizontal, shroud meanson at least the side walls of said blower compartment and disposed aboutsaid air duct means to prevent water falling on the top wall of saidblower compartment from draining in front of said air duct means, thelower portion of said air duct means being located below said blowermeans to exclude water from said blower means, and sump means in saidlower portion for collecting water discharged by said spray means.

8. The structure of claim 7 in which said lower portion includes ablower compartment on opposite sides thereof and said sump means isdisposed between said blower compartments.

9. The structure of claim 8 in which each of said blower compartmentsincludes at least one blower located opposite the blower of the othercompartment, each of said compartments having an air duct means fordirecting a stream of air outwardly and upwardly into said plenumchamber to distribute a flow of air over substantially the entiresurface area of said coil.

1. An evaporative condenser comprising heat exchange apparatus mountedin an enclosure, means to discharge liquid onto the upper portion ofsaid heat exchange apparatus, the liquid flowing downwardly over thelower portion thereof and falling from the lowermost portion, means forblowing air over said heat exchange surfaces in counterflow relation tothe path of the liquid, said means comprising blower means mountedbeneath the heat exchange means, said blower means so positioned andarranged as to discharge air substantially horizontally from the lowerside of the blower means, air directing means mounted at the outlet ofsaid blower means and disposed to direct the air upwardly at an angle tothe horizontal, means for shielding the blower means and air directingmeans from liquid which is falling from the heat exchange means, saidshielding means comprising roof means mounted directly above the blowermeans and having a higher portion adjacent to the wall of the enclosureand a lower portion over the discharge from the blower means, partitionmeans extending from the lower portion of said roof means to the bottomof said enclosure, said partition means having an opening for saidblower means, a shroud having flange means disposed about said openingfor preventing the discharge of liquid over said opening, said shroudhaving a higher portion centrally of the blower means whereby liquidfalling from the roof portion is deflected away from the blower meansand from the air directing means, and sump means positioned to receiveliquid which is discharged from the roof means and which fAlls directlyinto the sump means from the heat exchange means.
 2. The invention ofclaim 1 in which the blower means is of the centrifugal type and has ascroll housing, in which the roof means is mounted above the scrollhousing, and in which the outlet from the scroll housing is positionedon the lower side of the blower means.
 3. The invention of claim 1 inwhich a second blower means is mounted on the opposite side of theenclosure from said first blower means, said second blower means havingan outlet which discharges air substantially directly toward the outletof said first blower means, said second blower means having airdirecting means which directs the discharge from the blower meansupwardly at an angle from the horizontal, whereby the effective path ofair from both blower means meets substantially intermediate and abovethe blower means and in a generally upward and central direction.
 4. Theinvention of claim 1 in which the sump means has one portion lower thanthe other in order to facilitate drainage from the sump.
 5. Theinvention of claim 1 in which the enclosure is substantially rectangularand in which the blower means is positioned within the verticalextension of the portion of the housing within which the heat exchangemeans is located.
 6. The invention of claim 1 in which said airdeflecting means includes a plate member which extends at an angle fromthe lower wall of the blower outlet and has a portion spaced beneath theouter end of the lower wall in order to permit liquid which falls on thedeflected means to drain beneath the blower means.
 7. An evaporativecondenser comprising a housing having upper and lower portions,condenser coil means located in said upper portion, spray means disposedabove said coil means and adapted to discharge liquid thereon, means forsupplying liquid under pressure to said spray means, said lower portionincluding a plenum chamber located below said coil means, at least oneblower compartment having side and top walls in said lower portion,blower means mounted within said compartment and adapted to discharge astream of air through the side walls of said compartment into saidplenum chamber, air duct means for directing said stream of air upwardlyat an angle greater than 30* to the horizontal, shroud means on at leastthe side walls of said blower compartment and disposed about said airduct means to prevent water falling on the top wall of said blowercompartment from draining in front of said air duct means, the lowerportion of said air duct means being located below said blower means toexclude water from said blower means, and sump means in said lowerportion for collecting water discharged by said spray means.
 8. Thestructure of claim 7 in which said lower portion includes a blowercompartment on opposite sides thereof and said sump means is disposedbetween said blower compartments.
 9. The structure of claim 8 in whicheach of said blower compartments includes at least one blower locatedopposite the blower of the other compartment, each of said compartmentshaving an air duct means for directing a stream of air outwardly andupwardly into said plenum chamber to distribute a flow of air oversubstantially the entire surface area of said coil.